ABSTRACT
In Ta-wei Chi's Taiwanese queer sci-fi novel The Membranes (1995), humans have relocated from land to the bottom of the sea because the ozone layer has become so eroded that it no longer protects human skin from the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. The protagonist of the novel is Momo, a skin aesthetician who is popular among wealthy clients who wish to rejuvenate their skin. After a reunion with her controlling and estranged mother, Momo is engulfed in an unspeakable tragedy. A brief sequel to The Membranes, the short story “Biospheres” is set when humans try once again to return to the land from the ocean depths. Among those sent to scout whether the newly built land biospheres – New Taipei and New Nagasaki among others – are liveable, are an athletic young man named Taotao (literally “eloquent” in Chinese), who it emerges is brother to Momo (literally “taciturn”), and his companion – a humanoid smartwatch which meticulously monitors Taotao's health data. Instructed to follow Taotao everywhere by a mother desperate to avoid further tragedy, Taotao's “Health Secretary” accompanies him to a hot-spring resort on the legendary Mt. Yangmingshan in Taipei. Two flirtatious male bathers, who seem to be interested in Taotao's naked body, reveal to the Health Secretary the surprising reason why the robust Taotao seems puzzlingly depressed.
